


A Time To Every Purpose

by Rochelle_Templer



Series: Inktober For Writers 2017 [11]
Category: Father Brown (2013)
Genre: Gen, Introspection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-12
Updated: 2017-10-12
Packaged: 2019-01-16 08:13:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12338847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rochelle_Templer/pseuds/Rochelle_Templer
Summary: Father Brown knew that God had His own purposes....





	A Time To Every Purpose

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of my Inktober for Writers project. The prompt for this fic was "seasons".
> 
> This fic takes place after "The Sins of Others." The verses quoted are from Ecclesiastes, Chapter Three.

_‘To every thing there is a season….’_

Father Brown looked up from his Bible and sighed. Currently, he was sitting at the kitchen table, sipping some tea and trying to concentrate on writing his homily for over an hour without any success.

He knew he was distracted, but he was used to that. The people in his parish often needed him for one thing or another and he left his door open just so they could call on him whenever that need arose. Thus, he was used to having to think about many things outside his official church duties. Normally, he could handle the distractions by putting them in a corner of his mind and making the decision to tend to them later.

But as much as he tried to think of this as a normal time, Father Brown knew, deep down, that he couldn’t. Because it wasn’t every day that you say goodbye to a part of your family.

_‘A time to mourn and a time to dance….’_

Brown took off his glasses and stood up to look out the window. He had had to say goodbye to Sid before when he’d been sent to prison. However, that didn’t have the same feeling as this last goodbye did. Despite Sid’s assurance that he would return. In some ways, the former time was worse simply because Sid would be imprisoned for something he didn’t do. And yet, this time had its own poignancy. Not because he thought that Sid would end up in a bad place.

More like, because it was possible that he’d end up somewhere he liked better than Kembleford.

_‘A time to get and a time to lose….’_

Father Brown frowned. When he agreed to look after Sid, it was always with the intention of helping him grow and find his own path in the world. It was with the goal that he’d grow up wise and happy. Wisdom was something that Father Brown was certain would come with time. Happiness, however, would always be up to Sid to find, no matter how much Brown tried to give him reasons to be happy.

Somewhere along the way though, Father Brown was forced to admit that it also become about his own happiness….something that he had neither anticipated nor was entirely comfortable with.

_‘A time to keep silence and a time to speak.’_

It had been one of the most difficult things he ever did, but when Sid announced that he was leaving to travel, Father Brown did not say anything to dissuade him. Sure, he tried to stretch out the goodbye as much as he could, but he knew that he would always regret it if he had made Sid doubt his own decision for even a moment.

Father Brown rubbed his eyes and sat back down at the kitchen table. Mrs. McCarthy was coming soon and was sure to ask about his progress on his homily. Even though his heart was heavy now, he was certain that there was a reason, a purpose, for Sid leaving Kembleford. For however short or long of a time it might end up being. He would trust God’s wisdom in this matter, a thought that helped him shift his mind back into focus.

_‘He hath made every thing beautiful in His time….’_

Father Brown smiled and turned his attention back to his Bible, seeking God’s guidance as he found the words he needed to minister to his flock this Sunday.


End file.
